Roman Polanski

Born Aug. 18, 1933 in Paris, France, Polanski moved with his family to his father's native Poland when he was three. Three years later, the Nazis invaded and Polanski's family - born Jewish, but non-practicing - were separated. When he was seven, the Nazis sealed off the Krakow ghetto, forcing Polanski to fend for himself by smuggling goods in and out of the sanctioned area. Unknown to Polanski at the time, his mother was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was gassed by the Nazis while four months pregnant. Eventually, his father was sent to - and barely survived - Mauthausen-Gusen, while Polanski himself managed to flee Krakow with the help of his father, who pushed his son... Continue Bio >>